United for Peace & Justice Revamps Operations Into Network; Promotes Volunteerism

Dear UFPJ member groups,

The UFPJ Steering Committee decided on February 1 to move forward, adapting to current economic and political realities by working as a network of its member organizations. This letter provides more detail on our plans.

The peace and justice movement faces a new situation compared to the time when UFPJ was founded, in 2002, to oppose the Iraq war. Eyes have turned to the economic crisis, and this has reduced attention to peace issues, even as the Obama Administration rapidly escalates the Afghanistan war and asks for a record-breaking military budget that continues to devastate the U.S. economy.

As a result, UFPJ faced political, organizational and financial challenges in 2009. We addressed reduced income and a large debt by transitioning to an all-volunteer operation. In this way we were able to pay off much of the debt. While more work remains, UFPJ can rebuild its finances in 2010.

In November, UFPJ asked member groups for your input on our future direction, asking whether we should continue as a coalition, transition to a network, or dissolve to make room for new initiatives. Over 80 member groups responded to a detailed member group survey and dozens participated in conference calls. The overwhelming majority of those who responded said that UFPJ should continue.

With that input in mind, UFPJ's Steering Committee developed two alternative proposals in January, and adopted the UFPJ Network proposal by a vote of 14-5. The proposal that was adopted calls for UFPJ to transition to a volunteer-sustained network, while maintaining some elements of a coalition. The new UFPJ will be anchored in the Working Groups, which will engage member groups in issue-oriented activity. Member groups and Working Groups will share their campaigns through UFPJ's website and email lists. A new Internet Committee will harness volunteers to help build up our online capabilities. The elected Steering Committee will ensure that all UFPJ bodies continue to implement the political principles adopted at the 2008 National Assembly.

Click here to download the UFPJ Network document.

We now turn our attention to transitioning to the new model. The new UFPJ will require member groups and volunteers to play more of a role than was the case in the past. We welcome ideas and input from member groups on how to make this new network model as vibrant and effective as possible. Now that we have all had a chance to see what this "new era" really feels like, join us in creating a well tuned entity to bring our issues boldly forward. We will be having a member group conference call in the near future to get the ball rolling; please plan to join it.

We will soon be asking member groups to step up their participation in this network, to pay their 2010 dues and, if possible, to also make an additional one-time donation to retire our debt. We will open a new listserv for members to discuss our work, and we will write again soon with more information on how to get involved with working groups and committees. With the occupation of Iraq continuing, the war in Afghanistan escalating, new wars looming on the horizon, and military funding sapping critical resources needed for basic human needs; the call for peace and justice is needed now more than ever. UFPJ's national scope and our integration of the peace struggle with the struggles for justice, define UFPJ's unique role. We ask for your support and involvement as we continue to move our work forward.

For peace and justice,

UFPJ Steering Committee